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Release Number: 09-138

For Immediate Release

Public Information
Office

May 14, 2009

JD Callaway:
jcallawa@hcso.tampa.fl.us

(813) 247-8058

Who:

Joshua Adam Spencer

DOB 1/15/80

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Detention
Deputy

Charges: misdemeanor battery; official
misconduct

What:

Arrested

When:

Thursday, May 14,
2009

Where:

Sheriff’s
Operations Center, Ybor City

Why/How:

A Hillsborough
County Sheriff’s detention deputy was arrested today for misdemeanor
battery on a juvenile inmate. The deputy also was charged with official
misconduct, a felony. The incident occurred at the Falkenburg Road Jail
on May 13, 2009.

Sheriff David Gee
ordered a criminal investigation after a deputy who witnessed the
battery alerted supervisors that same day. The juvenile sustained a
one-inch laceration to the back of his head and did not require
hospitalization.

“I am extremely
disappointed in the actions of the deputy who assaulted this inmate.
However, I am proud of the other deputy who saw the incident, knew it
was wrong and brought it to our attention,’’ said Sheriff Gee. “We moved
quickly and thoroughly when we learned of this incident.’’

The deputy
arrested is Joshua Spencer, DOB 1/15/80. He was hired as a detention
deputy in August 2005. He is currently suspended without pay pending
termination.

The incident
occurred around 12:40 a.m. at the Falkenburg Jail. The juvenile inmate,
Sean Walker, DOB 1/19/93, was being held in a confinement cell because
of his age. When deputies approached his cell door to discuss a dispute
over items in his cell, the juvenile spat on them through a food tray
slot. Spencer opened the cell door and charged the inmate, knocking him
to the floor, face down. Spencer then struck the inmate three to five
times with his fist on the back of the head. Other deputies restrained
Spencer, and sought medical aid for the inmate. Jail medical staff
treated the laceration. The juvenile was also given a complete
examination, including X-rays, by a physician, who determined his injury
was minor.

In addition to the
criminal charges against Spencer, an administrative investigation is
under way regarding the actions of the other deputies involved in this
incident.